I have been a senior leader in organisations for over 15 years and I have always, on the whole, enjoyed it. Yes, it is scary at times, you are responsible for making difficult decisions which affect people and their jobs. Being a senior leader can be a lonely place, where confidential information cannot be discussed. It can be cold and clinical reviewing jobs and figuring out a redundancy process. You know the people you work with, you like them and most of them care about doing a good job.
Difficult times
As senior leaders you never what is around the corner and the difficult situations that you might need to deal with. The loss of a contract, a new competitor, difficult recruitment market making it hard to find the talent you need, the cost of implementing new technology or new legislation. There are a lot of balls to juggle and it can be overwhelming at times. In addition, you are managing people, heir expectations and needs. You need to present a demeanour of calm, being in control and steering the ship
I heard a recent antidote which I found useful, you will be juggling lots of balls and some of those will be plastic and some will glass, you cannot drop the glass ones but you can put the plastic ones down. In other words, what are the most pressing priorities that you need to deal with, face or solve and what can wait. We can’t do everything in a day, so we must take 5 mins to think about the most pressing issues and ideally have a short to do list.
Influence what you can control.
It is also worth remembering that we cannot control everything and so we have to focus on what we can control. It is easy in today’s climate to focus on all the things to worry about, the environment, economy, uncertain world, but in reality, we have no control over those things. As leaders we need to show our teams that we understand those issues and concerns, let them know what we are doing to address them. What is our plan and if difficult decisions are necessary why we are making them.
Communication is key as leaders and yet in my experience it is the one area which seems to be most difficult to get right. Often from employee feedback, the consensus is that leaders don’t communicate, whilst conversely leaders are adamant they have and do. Often leaders think they have communicated, however, have they communicated in the right way? Have they used several channels to ensure everyone has seen or heard the message? Has there been a follow up? It is important to think about a communications strategy. What are the types of messages you want share, who is the audience and what is the best method. For example, financial updates might be for senior managers only and be in person. Organisational updates might be for all staff and be by email. Sensitive messages might be for all staff but require a cascade approach, senior staff, managers and then teams, followed by an email announcement. Sometimes messages need to be broadcast on several channels and have to be repeated.
Final thought
Being a good leader requires authenticity and integrity, sometimes we don’t have all the answers. Sometimes we cannot share everything but still need to be calm and provide confidence. Sometimes decisions have to be taken which are right for the organisation but will affect employees. Dealing with that and the aftermath requires compassion and sensitivity. Understanding as a leader that the emotions directed towards you, are not about you and dealing with them calmly. Being a leader is hard, being a good leader harder still. Remembering that how you lead is how people will remember you and taking a moment to be kind and compassionate, when it is difficult, goes a long way.
